This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-026257, filed Feb. 3, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an endoscope having a plurality of treating tool insertion channels and adapted to perform a treating operation by treating tools projected from corresponding distal end openings of the corresponding treating tool insertion channels.
The procedure for treating a region in a body cavity of a human subject with the use of a combination of an endoscope having a treating tool insertion channel and treating tool having a treating means has conventionally been carried out widely. In particular, the procedure for resecting a carcinomatous legion in the body cavity with the use of a combination of the endoscope and associated treating tool has been widely accepted.
The procedure comprises raising a diseased tissue region through the injection of a given liquid by an injection needle, resecting that raised portion by a cutting tool and stopping the bleending of a given region, if any, by a blood stopping tool, and so on. At each procedure, a special-use treating tool is inserted through a corresponding treating tool insertion channel of the endoscope and each treating operation is done individually.
As such treating method, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-37348 has proposed a new treating system according to which a treating operation is done with an endoscope having two treating tool insertion channels, while inserting corresponding treating tools through the treating tool insertion channels.
In the endoscope of the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application, a forceps raising device is provided at a distal end opening of one treating tool insertion channel and adapted to be raised away from a distal end opening of the other treating tool insertion channel and the procedure is carried out using a combination of grasping forceps inserted through the treating tool insertion channel, that is, the channel with the forceps raising device attached thereto, and a cutting tool, such as an electric surgical knife, inserted through the above-mentioned other treating tool insertion channel. For example, a diseased mucosa portion or its neighborhood is grasped by the grasping forceps and, by the forceps raising device, the grasping forceps is moved away from the above-mentioned other treating tool insertion channel through which the cutting tool is inserted. By doing so, the mucosa is pulled upwardly and the upwardly. pulled mucosa region is resected by the cutting tool projected from the above-mentioned other treating tool insertion channel.
Such a technique using the combination of the endoscope and treating tools is effective to the case where a pliable mucosa tissue is pulled upwardly and the upwardly pulled mucosa is resected by the treating tool but not effective to the case where a cut is made down to a mucosa layer portion underlying that mucosa. The reason is that it is not possible to cut open the underlying mucosa layer by the raising operation of the grasping forceps.
Further, the specification of the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application discloses nothing about the technique of guiding the forward end of the cutting tool to a region of interest of a human subject. In the structure of the above-mentioned Application, it is necessary to locate a forward end of the cutting tool by, for example, bending the distal end portion of the insertion section of the endoscope and do so simply by an indirect operation.
When such an operation is done, the grasping forceps at the above-mentioned other treating tool insertion channel and visual field observed under the endoscope are often moved at a time in the locating operation of the cutting tool""s forward end. This requires a readjusting operation repeatedly and a cumbersome separating/cutting operation.
It is accordingly the object of the present invention to provide an endoscope which has a plurality of treating tool insertion channels and ensures an easy and positive treating operation by projecting treating tools from distal end openings of the treating tool insertion channels.
The object of the present invention is achieved by the endoscope as will be set out below. That is, the endoscope of the present invention comprises an insertion section having a first treating tool insertion channel and a second treating tool insertion channel, each having a distal end opening at the distal end of the insertion section to allow insertion of a treating tool; a first mechanism provided at the distal end opening of the first treating tool insertion channel and having an operation member for changing a projecting direction of the treating tool projected through the distal end opening toward a first direction; and a second mechanism provided at the distal end opening of the second treating tool insertion channel and having an operation member for changing the projecting direction of the treating tool projected from the distal end opening toward a second direction different from the first direction.
According to the endoscope of the present invention, it is possible to easily and positively resect a wider-range affected region of interest at a time with the use of a combination of an endoscope and associated treating tools, ensure an easier operation and rapidly and positively perform an operation on a region of interest. As a result, less burden is placed on both the operator and patient.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.